Pony coughing but also high laminitis risk

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Christmas Crumpet

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We have got a little Section A on loan for my daughter who is utterly lovely.
However, we are having slight issues...!!!

She got laminitis last year after being left out in a big lush field whilst her owners went on holiday and, by all accounts, nearly died. She is ok now but I am very vigilant about the amount of grass she gets. She is turned out at nighttime for about 4 or 5 hours with my big horse wearing a Shires bucket muzzle. So far so good. We were told she couldn't go out at all but I don't think the owners had ever used or considered using a grazing muzzle. She comes in with no pulses after that time.

The rest of the time she is in - during the day she is in her stable with 12 hour soaked hay with a quarter stable sized shavings bed. Once she comes in at nighttime, she has the run of the yard and access to her stable on soaked hay again. The problem being that she has a cough - its not horrific but I hear her coughing a couple of times a day and she can cough when out riding.

So here's the thing - to make the cough go away, she should go out more but I'm scared to turn her out anymore in case she does get laminitis despite being muzzled and on 2 acres with a big horse and 4 sheep who have munched the grass right down. Do I just bite the bullet and see how she is turned out for a night? She has had ventapulmin which cleared the cough up and is now on Winergy Ventilate but cough has come back. Can she be on ventapulmin full time (god knows how expensive that would be though!!). She is no respecter of electric fencing either so I can't shut her in a small patch as she will escape. I could try hi fibre haylage instead of soaked hay I suppose. I do leaf blow the yard every night whilst she is out to clear any dust away.

If anyone has any ideas please share them!! Feeling a bit frustrated...
 
Well done you are managing her brilliantly. Do you soak any hay she gets ? Mine is muzzled when turned out too, he goes out in the day as its better for his cushings. I would try NAF respirater or Hackup.co.uk do a airway supplement. Also my friend had great results with equimins booster, but I would check with them all if safe for Lami prone. Mine used to have ventapulmin used to have the one off tub then I put him on the NAF supplement but I can't remember if that was before lami so that's why I'm saying to check with them just in case
 
Post and rail for a stable-sized corner in the field? You shouldn't need more than about three posts if you have existing fencing on two sides. Or can you arrange rubber mats/ a wee-corner in the yard so she can stay there over night, without access to the stable?
 
If her weight is good and she is genuinely fine after 5 hours turnout I would start gradually increasing that turnout time. Eg. if she is turned out in the day, she could be out 9-3 for 6 hours and you can increase that without having to do a full overnight which could easily be 12 hours. At the first sign of footiness, pulses, heat etc. you name it, keep her in.
 
Her hay is soaked for 12 hours and rinsed - it is fed in a Marts net but she is quite an efficient eater so it doesn't last her all night so she probably does go round the yard looking for other stuff to munch on - i.e the muck heap.

We can fence off a bit of field for her with proper fence posts and some thick electric. I hadn't actually considered that for some reason!! My big horse comes in during the day to get him off the grass (despite the fact that he too wears a muzzle - he is also prone to getting very fat and I have to watch his pulses like a hawk too). Neither mind if they are in/out on their own so perhaps we could make a bare patch for her. Not sure what we will do in the winter as our fields are bottomless.
 
There are good suggestions regarding turnout/fencing. You might also consider a feed supplement. I think Feedmark do one that has good reports.
 
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